Dry facts: Imagine a day without water
Campaign raises awareness of infrastructure issues
Yuma is joining a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the crucial need for investment in water infrastructure, here and across the nation.
The city celebrated the third annual Imagine a Day Without Water on Oct. 12. It was a day of education and advocacy about the value of water. Led by the Value of Water Campaign, hundreds of organizations across the country hosted events aimed at raising awareness about the crucial need for investment in the nation’s water infrastructure to ensure that no American community is left without safe and reliable water.
The city began a series of posts on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts and devoted time during its weekly radio show City News Thursday to the discussion of water infrastructure and the state of municipal water in the city.
“We’re asking people to imagine simple things, like a morning without coffee or a fountain without water,” Utilities Director Jay Simonton said. “Most people experience our water service as something they can always count on. But it takes substantial amount of people, effort and facilities working 24 hours a day, every day, to make that happen.”
“It is easy to take our water infrastructure for granted because it is often underground and out of sight,” added Radhika Fox, CEO of the U.S. Water Alliance and Director of the Value of Water Campaign. “But the systems that deliver water to and from our homes and businesses require reinvestment and upkeep just like roads and bridges. It is time to take action before we face a crisis.”
The Value of Water Campaign noted nationwide water infrastructure is aging and in need of investment, having gone underfunded for decades. Drought, flooding and climate change are stressing water and wastewater systems.
A single nationwide day without water service would put $43.5 billion of economic activity at risk. In just eight days, a national water service stoppage would put nearly 2 million jobs in jeopardy.
Imagine a Day Without Water tells the stories of challenges faced when water infrastructure fails, but also of the innovative solutions being implemented in communities nationwide.
Despite the vast challenges facing American water infrastructure, the good news is that there is great opportunity in investment. A study conducted by the Value of Water Campaign has found there is more than $220 billion in economic activity to be gained nationwide by closing the water infrastructure investment gap.
The American public is already widely supportive of implementing these needed investments. Above any other pressing political issue, Americans name rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure as the issue they most want elected officials to address.